Turkey-France: cross perceptions

In recent years France has become a lightning rod for Turkey's frustration with the EU. French politicians have been very vocal in their opposition to Ankara's EU bid, particularly during electoral periods when Turkey found itself used as a bogeyman and a symbol of 'otherness' by right-of-center parties. France does not, of course, carry the blame alone for the snail's pace of Turkey's long march toward EU membership. Cyprus remains the biggest political hurdle to overcome, and in several other EU member countries, public opinion, increasingly wary of further enlargement, is opposed to Turkey's entry.